It's Been How Long???

These things always start with the best intentions...

When I started the blog 3 years ago, my plan was to write, and write, and write.  I was thinking that everyone would get tired of all my posts.  Three years later that is definitely not a concern.  Almost a year has gone by and I haven't written anything. 

Okay, let's try this again. Instead of a quarterly update, I'll capture the past year in a few paragraphs. 

Last Thanksgiving we stayed close to home while the Voss' from Richmond and Mindy (and fiancee) came in from Steamboat Springs Colorado. My mom few up from Tampa. It was a fun long weekend filled with food and a trip to the Big Apple. 

Mindy and Bo in front of the home of the Philly Cheesesteak

Times Square

We got to be serenaded by a panoply of brass

Grandma Voss enjoying the concert

It was a great weather weekend and New York was a lot of fun.

More later...

Autumn Update

It seems that the bloggin has almost entirely disappeared. Between Facebook posts, this doesn't get much attention at all. Hope to change that.

Since last we posted... lots of big changes:

Tina is now a stay at home mom ! Yes, after 23 years with Pillsbury / General Mills Tina's position was eliminated and she now is at home. It's been a big adjustment but we're getting along well. Tina took the summer to spend time with the kids and this fall she is spending a lot of time with Madeleine and her schoolwork.

Evan is still doing baseball. This summer was spent with his travel team and this fall another travel team. We decided to switch to an independent travel team instead of Hatfileld for various reasons and he really likes it. Actually most of his Hatfield buddies are on this team with him. This fall Evan is in the Jazz Band, Concert Band as well as the running club at the middle school. Most nights there is one thing or another to do.

Madeleine had a great summer with Hatfield swim team and is swimming indoors this fall with the North Penn Aqautic Club. She had a great summer season and is looking forward to continuing her success this fall and winter. Madeleine is also playing the saxaphone and continues to do Odyssey of the Mind.

I'm still doing the same thing... taking the kids to their activities.

This summer we were able to head to Utah and Colorado for vacation. We were able to do a lot of hiking and biking. Definitely an active vacation !

That's the 3 minute update !

Winter Wrap Up

It's been a while since I last posted. Lately Facebook has been the outlet of choice in communicating, however I like the idea of the blog.

Highlight from the past few months:

• Christmas was quiet and peaceful. Tina's sister Mindy visited as well as Adrian (our little brother). The kids had a great time. We went skiing (snowboarding) after Christmas. The kids snowboarded, I skiied. Lots of fun.
• Kids sport over the winter included basketball for both, swimming for Madeleine and baseball for Evan. Sports seem to be a yearlong pursuit for the kids. It's great that they are busy. Tina and I just need to make sure we have time for each other and ourselves.
• Evan is playing in the North Penn Wind Ensemble. This is his second year doing this. He really likes the trombone and we're hopeful that he will continue on to middle school.
• Madeleine and her team competed in the Odyssey of the Mind competition March 19th. They didn't place, but scored ahead of last year. Their long term problem was to take a simple solution to a problem and make it complicated. Their solution was a pet food feeder. It started with a marble going through a tube, then through a funnel into a milk carton which triggered a pulley and knocked a golf ball through two gutters to knock a cylinder of food into a bowl. It was a pretty unique solution on which they worked very hard. Glad they competed and glad it's over.
• Tina and I are taking our bi-annual cruise this weekend. We're going to Florida and the Bahamas, leaving through Baltimore.
• On top of all that we're getting ready for baseball season. This includes getting ready for opening day and making sure all the coaches have what they need.

That's it for now. Hopefully you won't see the next post in July.

Much to Be Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving !

We're enjoying a quiet holiday today. My mom is visiting from Florida this week. The kids are hanging out around the house. It snowed this morning and we were able to watch the Thanksgiving Day parades on TV. Typically we travel to Richmond to visit my brother, but we thought is would be nice to stay home. Unfortunately Mike and family can't make it as they are home taking care of Mike's mother-in-law who is recovering from a stroke. It's a very different holiday this year, but we're having a quiet, peacful time.

I was thinking this morning of how different this Thanksgiving is compared to the Thanksgivings we had growing up. Typically we would go to my aunt's in Chicago with my grandparents. It was bustling with relatives. My mom's family is Irish and they all did their best to perpetuate the stereotypes of drinking and fighting. (arguing, no fisticuffs). The typical day would involve the older relatives sitting around the table with a bottle of Canadian Club whiskey and staying there until the bottle was finished. My mom didn't drink and was prone to complaining about the situation with the drinkers so mayhem was typically the main course of the day.

After dinner was over and we were ready to head home, it was up to my dad to carry my grandfather down the stairs to the car as he was one of the more voracious Canadian Club imbibers. All in all it was a fun time.

On the surface, this all sounds terrible, but this was our normal. We weren't scarred by the experience as this was all we knew. The memories I hold of those times were positive. The focus for me was spending time with relatives and enjoying great food. The kids all had fun and were quite surprised to discover as we got older that not all families celebrated holidays this way. As we had our own families, our traditions departed from the celebrating we knew as kids and adopted different traditions which involved less alcohol.

Here's hoping you have a great day and your traditions create great memories for years to come.

The Summer So Far

It's been a busy summer so far. The end of June we went to the Outer Banks for a week. We stayed at out time share there and had a great time. The week was a little quieter than our usual trip, but were able to explore places we haven't been. We took a kayak trip up in Corolla which was an hour north of where we stay. It's totally different up there.
July was a big sport month for the kids. Evan had a couple of baseball tournaments while Madeleine was busy with swimming. Both had good seasons this year. Madeleine was able to break some of her times swimming and placed in a few meets. Evan continued to enjoy playing ball. Also. Evan did band camp and had a concert at the end of the month.
In August Tina ran a triathlon in Philadelphia, the SHE ROX where one portion of the triathlon was swimming in the Schulykill river, a feat in itself. Tina's cousin from Northern New Jersey came up and did the race with her. She really enjoyed it.
Madeleine recently started soccer for the fall season. Evan will be starting fall ball shortly.
Right now we are taking a vacation at Hilton Head. We have never been here before and really like the area. So far this week we kayaked and took a tour of Savannah, GA. The condo is a couple of blocks off the beach. We rented bikes for the week since Hilton Head is a big biking area so we can ride to the beach. Also, the beach is flat enough where you can actually ride on the beach. It's a lot of fun.

Hope you are enjoying your summer so far.

Family Updates

We're winding down toward the end of school and getting ready for the summer.

Evan's league baseball season went well. He had a lot of fun and honed his skills. The record wasn't the best, but him and the others had a great time nonetheless.

Madeleine's soccer season went very well. They went undefeated. There were three ringers... I mean excellent players which helped advance their team. The good thing was Madeleine learned from the better players which help build her skills.

Right now we're transitioning into swimming and travel baseball. Evan had two tournements and placed in one. Madeleine's first swim meet is tomorrow so stay tuned.

Tina ran her first triathlon the weekend before last. This was the Lake Noximixon race. She beat her time from last year by over 5 minutes! The weather was great and she was able to convince a few friends to join her.

Work has been keeping us busy as well as some home improvement projects.

Until later...

Baseball and Soccer and Triatholons

As usual, it's been pretty busy around the Voss household.

Evan is doing baseball and has started travel practice this weekend so for a while both of these will overlap. So far, so good. He is still liking the experience.

Madeleine has been doing soccer this spring. She plays every Tuesday. It's a rec league so the focuses are on learning the skills and having fun. It's a co-ed league and there are two ringers on her team so they always win. In addition to soccer, Madeleine ran a triathlon last weekend. The local YMCA sponsors it. She swam 4 laps in the pool, biked 1 mile and ran 1/2 mile. She did awesome this year and beat her time by 5 minutes. The experience with the swim team as well as knowing what to expect helped her improve.

Work is going well for both Tina and I . The travel is still crazy but we're managing with the help of Tina's mother.

Home projects this year (so far) included finally getting the couches we ordered in the fall. It took about 6 months to arrive. Fortunately we're happy with them. We also replaced the outdoor furniture and got a firepit set. The backyard is finally starting to take shape. Also, after 13 years in the house we finally got the garage drywalled. The good thing is that it's done. The bad thing is that we had to take everything off the walls and we need to sand, prime and paint. The cars will be out of the garage for a while. This coincided with a heavy travel schedule for me so evenings working on the garage is out.

Until next time...

Evan's Wind Ensemble

It's been pretty busy the past 6 ~ 8 weeks. Philadelphia experienced enough snow to make us think we were still living in Syracuse. It's actually been pretty nice.

We're toward the end of basketball season. One more week and we're done. So far the season has gone well.

Madeleine has been busy with her Odyssey of the Mind group. This is a team with her school where the kids pose an answer or use their imagination to depict and event. Her group chose the "Hidden Treasure" problem. Their group needs to depict a situation where they have to find a hidden treasure and talk about it. Their group chose finding the Titanic. So this group is building a "vessel" to journey to the bottom of the ocean. The team meets at our house so we have the "vessel" in the play room. In addition they need to build a representation of the Titanic. In addition they need to portray a treasure now that a team in the future would find. We're still working on that one. The objective is for the kids to figure everything out themselves. It is a group of 5 and we have been meeting every Sunday. The competition is next month.

Evan has been busy with his school's wind ensemble. This is a group that is formed from all the schools in the district. You have to asked to join so he was very excited to be a part of it. They had their first concert on 2-8. The link is attached. Evan was the first group to play, so if you want to see him, he is filmed once at 7:42 playing. If you see the entire ensemble, he is the trombone on the far left in front of the beige drums.

http://nptv.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=5e755dd0dabc116a790bbf776df4a6f1

Until next time...

Happy New Year

What a year this has been ! Much to be grateful for and much to look forward to !

Christmas was most eventful. Most of our guests arrived safely. The sole exception was Adrian. On his way down he flipped his car on the PA Turnpike. Fortunately he was OK, the car was totaled. After a night at the hospital he was ready to come back.

The kids enjoyed this holiday. Both were happy with their gifts. Tina and I were happy to have all the Mulliken kids and their respective spouses for a few days. The day after Christmas we have some of Tina's extended (Mulliken) family over for dinner. It was a mini reunion of sorts. 1 cousin and 2 aunts couldn't make it but other than that everyone was there.

The last guest left on Wednesday so we have been spending some quiet time with just us. New Year's Eve was quiet. Tina and I went out to an early dinner and spent the evening at a friend's house. We were in the neighborhood so we didn't need to drive far.

This weekend we are catching up on things around the house, putting the Christmas decorations away and getting ready for work / school on Monday.

Happy New Year !

Merry Christmas

We're busy here getting ready for the holidays. Tina's sibling are all planning to arrive today. Lots to do. Looking forward to the time off and with family.

Here is a copy of our 2009 Christmas letter for those of you who don't get snail mail.

Happy Holidays

The Voss Family Christmas Letter
2009

Here’s hoping this message finds you in light heart and good spirits!

2009 was another fun year for the family, with the focus on the kids.

Evan has gotten into baseball in a big way this year. It all started with Winter Workouts in January, Spring Ball, Travel Ball in the summer, Fall Ball and Fall Workouts. It’s a sport he has really taken to. So, when the Phillies went to the World Series again this year, Evan was really excited! Evan also participated in chorus, chimes and he still enjoys playing the trombone. Madeleine’s sports interests are a bit more diverse and all were a first this year. She joined the swim team in the summer and loved it so much that she continued indoors during the fall. She also played soccer in the fall. Recently she started to play the violin. After 2 yrs, Madeleine and her Brownie troop (and yes Tina too) did their first camping trip in June – that was fun. Both kids are playing basketball now in the winter. It’s no surprise most of our time is spent bringing the kids to one practice or another.

Tina participated in two triathlons this year. In addition Tina and I did a couple of longer distance bike rides (one 50 mile and one 77.4 mile ride) which help keep us active. The kids also did a mini-triathlon in the spring which they enjoyed. I guess you can’t start them out too young.

In March Tina and I took a 10 day cruise through the Panama Canal as well as other destinations in the Caribbean. That was very relaxing!

We took a 2 ½ week family vacation to Colorado and California. Tina’s cousin got married in Beaver Creek, CO. After the wedding, we stopped in Steamboat Springs to visit Tina’s sister Mindy. From there we flew to Southern California to see family, friends and Disneyland. The kids haven’t had the Disney experience yet. We stayed for 5 days and were able to do pretty much everything we wanted.

On the job front Tina got a promotion in the spring – EBC Trade Planner BPM. She tracks funding for her region. She works in the office and no longer at home. It’s about a 45 min. ride. I’m still working with the Best Practice group and travel a lot. Gigi has been a terrific help with the kids and this allows us to maintain our busy schedules. In addition, Tina is still doing Arbonne which she really enjoys.

On the home improvement front, we added a small pond and waterfall in the backyard as well as spruced up the landscape. It was nice to spend more time back there in the evenings (when we weren’t taking the kids to their activities).

We enjoyed Thanksgiving in Richmond visiting my brother and his family and my mom. Christmas will be spent at home. Tina’s siblings and spouses will all be here to celebrate as well as Adrian. We were happy to have him visit us at Easter too this year – making the gingerbread house was so fun. More extended family will be visiting the day after Christmas. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone!

Here’s hoping your holidays are peaceful and safe. We’re still keeping up the family blog. Check it out at www.thevossblog.blogspot.com
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!